Mark Bittman did an article in the New York Times recently about no knead bread. I have made it three times and each time it is better than any artisan bread I have ever purchased. Has anyone else tried it? It is a very interesting recipe. Here is the basic ingredient list:

3 c. Bread Flour
1/4 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 5/8 c. water

The dough ferments for 18+ hours then is given a 2nd rise for 2-3 hours and is baked in a dutch oven inside a 450 degree oven (covered 30 minutes, uncovered 30 minutes).

My latest round was a Walnut - Sweet Potato Whole Wheat Loaf. The bread came out more moist than I expected, possibly due to the addition of sweet potato (maybe a little longer in the oven next time). But it really has a nice fall flavor and would be good with some cream cheese or even some manchego. You could do just about anything with it. I'm sure that, toasted, it would be heaven. I'll know in the morning.

Jenise wrote:Robert, the recipe works fine without the pot too, and much better with bread flour than AP.

Do you mean that you just let it bake free form on a sheet pan (I assume)? The last time I made it (with walnuts and sweet potato) I used a smaller pan and got a very uniform, round, and fairly high loaf.

Larry Greenly wrote:Ewww! But they're made in France! Obviously, you're some kind of terrorist.

Look buddy, I didn't see you and all your 'Righty' friends offering to send back the Statue of Liberty after you poured all that French wine into the river. SO JUST BACK OFF!!! (I gotta be careful, too.)

Hi Jenise, I'm jumping on this no-knead bandwagon, and have mine mixed for tomorrow night's dinner. I don't have a pot that large and thought I wouldn't be able to use this method. Thanks for letting us know the pot isn't necessary. My question now is do you bake it the same amount of total time as recipe calls for even though it's not covered at all?

Linda, I'm not Jenise (obviously) but just wanted to share some info here. I have abandoned a dutch oven (6-8 quart) for a much smaller 3-4 quart stainless pot with lid. I think that the lid really helps to develop a good crust due to the steaming that occurs from the closed baking. Almost any pot with lid will work. Good luck.

I ended up making my bread in a 6-qt. stainless stock pot with foil over the top. I baked it for 45 min., and it turned out great. I think it needs more salt, though, and maybe another 5 or so min. baking.

My problem was doing the 2nd rise on a floured towel. I didn't use enough flour and had a sticky mess. Next time parchment paper!